Hello Randolph, Some of the laughter is because we can be silly at times, some of it is because Bob was really taken back by some of the claims of Dispensationalism and he couldn’t tell if I was kidding. As for why people can be put off by Covenant Theology I think it is because it is a lot of work to really understand how Covenantal-ly connected the Bible is. I also see a pattern among many in the YRR where they feel a need to reinvent the wheel. So instead of looking at systematic theologies that have been developed over the last two thousand years they seek to start ‘fresh’ thus coming up with something defined by them for a new generation. (that is just my observation) As for why Darby sought something different I think, (and I can only speculate) it was an attempt to rationalize his premillennialism with the rest of the Bible. As for the others they were following in his footsteps. I actually think that that is the only thing that Dispensationalism solves, a way for people to enter the millennium in natural bodies so their can be babies born and a final rebellion. In Historic Premillennialism at the end of the millennium there is a rebellion and a fall; by redeemed and glorified saints? This doesn’t seem Biblically possible. But Dispensationalism solves that problem. Hope this answers your questions.